Year: 2019
Type: book-review
Abstract: In Nepali Migrant Women: Resistance and Survival in America (2015) author Shobha Hamal Gurung provides a timely and compelling account of a unique group of migrant women employed in the informal economy in Boston and New York City.Her 35 informants, who are between the ages of 28 and 57, originally entered the United States legally but now work without documentation.They are primarily employed in childcare, but also work in restaurants, beauty parlors, and other service positions.Before their migration, the majority were from middle class backgrounds, well-educated, and employed in respected professions.Their work in the United States represents a clear downward trajectory in terms of occupational prestige and class standing.Yet, they continue to stay and work in the U.S.This begs the obvious question of why?To find an answer, Hamal Gurung's book grapples with a variety of smaller 'how' questions: How did her informants initially make the decision to migrate from Nepal to the United States?How did they decide to stay?How has migration affected their sense of self?How has migration affected their families and communities?Hamal Gurung's queries are framed by several literatures, including globalization and migration, intersectionality, and women's agency and empowerment.Throughout the book, the
Author: Barbara Grossman-Thompson
Institution: California State University, Long Beach
Language: English
Topic: Migration and Labor Dynamics
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2924685185